


Only In Dreams Can We Find The Truth

by Onyx_Of_Octavia



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Books, Demons, Dreameaters, Drunk Shenanigans, Elves, F/F, F/M, M/M, Motorcycles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Riku likes whiskey okay?, Royalty, Shopping, Sirens, Texting, University, awkward gays, but also modern?, clubs, look this is a thing with a lot to it, no beta we die like men, possilbe ooc, sora is the crown prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-06-26 19:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onyx_Of_Octavia/pseuds/Onyx_Of_Octavia
Summary: After the palace gets attacked Sora and Roxas find themselves in a bigger plot then just a take over of their Kingdom. Now stuck in Radiant Garden with more than one person who is determined to keep them there, will the twins ever get back to their Kingdom and reclaim the throne rightfully theirs? Love, pain, magic, all things that stand in their way, or do they mean empower the brothers? Only time will tell.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this idea has been eating away at me for months, so I finally got some of out on paper. Chapter one is all from Sora's pov, but the next chapter will be from Riku's, a lot of setting has to be established, so if you get a little lost I'm sorry! It'll all come together as the story progresses, I hope.

“Once upon a time there were two princes who were so bored that they died. The end,” Roxas narrated as he dropped back onto the grass next to his twin. The pair was lounging out in one of the many gardens in the palace, wishing they could visit their friends out in the city.

“Is that based on a true story?” the older twin, Sora, asked, gazing up at the dark grey clouds that loomed over the Kingdom of Hallow Bastion.

“Yes, or it will be if we don’t find something to do,”

Sora laughed with dry amusement, nudging his brother in the ribs. Roxas wasn’t wrong though, ever since Xemnas had attacked the Kingdom two weeks ago the princes had been on lock down. Their father, the Shadow King, had ordered extra guards to watch over them, so what little freedom they had hoped to have while confined to the palace was promptly crushed. Lexeaus and Xaldin had been tasked with being the direct guard, Lexeaus was to keep an eye on Sora, while Xaldin was to watch Roxas, the two guards refused to let the young men out of their sight. They were stationed over under a nearby oak tree while Sora and Roxas laid in the grass. At times they had been forced to use the shadows to restrain the princes from sneaking out. A feat that was only possible because the king had neutralized the princes’ own shadow powers; a fact the twins resented because all their power came from their father’s side. The only thing they got from their mother was a pair of pointy ears.

Their mother, may the Stars guide her soul, had been a beautiful Celestial Elf; both Roxas and their older brother, Cloud, took after her with their blond hair and blue eyes. Sora took more after their father, with his cinnamon brown spikes and slightly darker complexion, though he did have his mother’s eyes.

Cloud had moved out of the palace a year ago, renouncing his title of crown prince and giving it to Sora, and left to be with the man he had fallen in love with. He would still come to visit, but with Leon’s schedule as a university professor, it wasn’t always easy for the older to visit as often as he wanted.

“We could spar?” Sora suggested.

“We did that yesterday, I kicked your ass, just like every day before that, it’s no fun when you can’t use your shadows,”

Sora huffed, crossing his arms in a pout, “So what should we do?”

“If I knew, we’d be doing it,” Roxas retorted.

“Hmmm… So why do you think Xemnas attacked the Kingdom?” Sora asked, wanting to do something besides just lay there in the grass.

“Hell if I know,” Roxas grumbled, “From what father said, he’s not right in the head, but to launch an attack in broad daylight, against the Kingdom? That’s a whole other level of crazy,”

“Do you think someone else is behind it?”

“That would make the most sense,” Roxas said, nodding more to himself than his twin as he let that idea roll around in his mind.

They lapsed into a calm silence, both content to just ponder what the attack could mean, or at least that was what Roxas was doing. Sora had started out thinking about that, but his train of thought quickly derailed and went to what they would be having for dinner among other things.

“Your highness's, you need to come with us, now,” Xaldin said, hastily approaching the twins, the urgency in his usually calm tone not lost on the princes.

“Xaldin? What’s going on?” Roxas asked, already on his feet and following after the guard, Sora only steps behind. They both could tell something was wrong, Xaldin and Lexeaus usually left them to their own devices, only approaching them when they were needed for something.

“There has been another attack, Xemnas has somehow managed to infiltrate the palace,” Lexeaus said, taking up the rear of the group.

“He’s in the palace?” Sora asked, bright eyes widening with surprise at the news. The palace was as fortified, if not more so, than some of the military bases. For someone to actually succeed in getting through all the defenses, this was no half-baked plan of one of the opposing kingdoms.

“Yes, and a good number of his men as well,”

“What? How did they get in? Wouldn’t the security sensors have dealt with them?” Roxas pressed, wanting to know more about the threat and why they were attacking the palace.

“We don’t know, it’s likely Xemnas found a way to disable the security system, though how is another question… But we don’t have tome to discuss that, we need to get you two to safety,” Xaldin replied as he lead them to the safe room in the south wing, farthest from the initial attack.

The group fell silent, hurrying through the halls as quickly and quietly as they could. Rounding a corner, a shot echoed off the stone walls and Xaldin stumbled backwards, clutching his chest where a red blossom grew, seeping into his uniform, before collapsing to the floor, eyes unseeing and a trickle of blood flowing from his mouth. Lexeaus was quick to react, pulling the twins back behind the corner and readying his pistol for a fight.

He peered around the wall, trying to locate his target for a fast take down. From where he stood, though, he couldn’t get a good read on the adjacent hall and motioned for the princes to remain where they were while he went ahead to eliminate the threat.

Sora huddled closer to Roxas as they crouched into a small alcove while Lexeaus moved forward. He held his brother close as they waited for the guard to return, wishing they had access to the shadows. Roxas stroked his brother’s hair, doing what he could to comfort the smaller elf and keep his gaze off of Xaldin’s fallen corpse. Not even a full minute after Lexeaus disappeared around the corner, three shots rang out followed by slow, purposeful footsteps moving towards the boys’ location. They didn’t know who it was that was approaching them, Roxas had shifted, shielding Sora as he pulled his dagger from his boot, ready to defend and protect the crown prince lest it wasn’t Lexeaus who turned the corner.

All the blond saw was a black boot before he threw Sora deeper into the alcove and lunged forward in attack. He was lucky Lexeaus had been expecting such a move, or who knew how it would’ve ended.

“Good to see you haven’t forgotten you training,” the guard chuckled as he released Roxas from his hold, “We need to keep moving, I don’t know how many others are around, and if they have gotten this far in the palace… We need to make sure you both get to the safe room,”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to travel through the shadows?” Sora asked, emerging from where he had hidden.

“It would be if the king hadn’t neutralized your powers. I can only take one of you with me via the shadow halls, and I’m not about to leave one of you behind,” he sent a pointed look to Roxas at that when the blond opened his mouth to protest, “Now we should be okay, if we remain silent and vigilant,”

“Would you be able to retrieve our blades, at the very least?” Roxas asked before they started to move again.

After a brief moment of consideration, the red-headed guard nodded, “If you two stay here, I can go get your swords so you’re not completely helpless,”

The twins curled back into the alcove, trying to meld themselves to the walls to stay out of sight. Lexeaus opened a shadow hall and disappeared into it, leaving no trace of his presence behind. He returned shortly after, only one sword in hand, Roxas’ broadsword, Oathkeeper, in the other he help his own axe sword, Skysplitter.

“Where’s Sora’s sword?” Roxas asked, taking his blade in hand.

“I couldn’t find it, didn’t help that the armory had been raided,” Lexeaus grumbled the last part under his breath, “Now let’s go,”

They slipped through the halls, making their way to the south wing, more alert to the danger that could lurk beyond any corner. Lexeaus took great caution in using his shadows to search out the more exposed hallways with his shadows before he would let the princes move on. Half way down one such hall Lexeaus froze, holding a hand up to his ear piece before ripping it out and crushing it under his boot.

“Damn shitfaces…” he growled.

“Lex?” Sora asked.

“The guard has been compromised… That’s how Xemnas was able to get inside. He has a mole working in the palace. Security systems are down everywhere, and coms are most likely being monitored,”

“Does that mean the safe room is compromised too?”

“… Fucking walnuts! We gotta get you kids outta the palace, get you tot he safe house in Insomnia, should be safe there until we hear from your father,” this was said more as a thought than an actual plan, but that didn’t stop the red-head from moving on, turning down a corridor that would lead them away from the south wing.

With the new destination in mind the trio hurried through the palace, still relying on Lexeaus’ shadows to alert them if there was an enemy in their direct path. It was all quiet until they reached just outside the main hall. Until then they hadn’t seen or heard any other signs of fighting beyond the encounter that claimed Xaldin’s life. The metallic clang of sword meeting sword and the piercing ringing of shots leaving guns, paired with the screams of battle broke through the silence, growing louder as they approached the main hall. They stopped just outside the door, Lexeaus weighing his options for getting the boys to safety.

“How many are there?” Sora whispered so not to alert the enemy of their presence, just in case someone were to hear them through the walls and over the roar of fighting.

“I can’t tell, too many are shadow demons, and keep dropping in and out of the shadows for me to get a good read on who’s on our side and who isn’t,” Lexeaus replied, “You too stay here,” he ushered the twins behind a bust of their great-grandfather, “I’m going to try to see if I can scout out the hall and hopefully find a path out. If I’m not back in five minutes, break the window and run, Don’t look back, don’t worry about me or anyone besides yourselves, head towards Insomnia and stay there. Got it?”

The two shadow elves nodded, Roxas steadying his sword in preparation.

“I know you’re more comfortable fighting with your shadows, but seeing as you aren’t able to use them at the moment, take these so you have some way to defend yourself,” Lexeaus said, handing Sora a pair of bladed knuckles, which he took albeit reluctantly, “One well aimed punch with these can kill a man, hopefully you won’t have to use them,”

Sora stared down at the weapons hoping the same thing. Sora was the kinder of the twins, generally preferring to find alternative solutions to fighting, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t hold his own in a battle, he just preferred not to. Roxas was the fighter of the two, taking it upon himself to be Sora’s personal bodyguard, even fighting off the palace guard when they upset his brother. Ever since the age of five Roxas had trained diligently to keep Sora safe.

Lexeaus placed a strong hand on Sora’s shoulder and gave the young man a gentle look, knowing that brunet was having a personal conflict, but knowing when it came down to it, he would do what he needed to survive and keep Roxas safe. He then stepped back into a shadow hall to go scout ahead. When he was gone Roxas moved them more into the corner where he could more easily see if someone was coming, It was a tense few minutes, neither prince knowing what was going on in the main hall, or why they were being targeted, or why any of this was happening in the first place.

There had been peace across their country ever since their grandfather took the throne many years ago. That peace was further cemented with their father’s marriage to their mother, may the Stars guide her soul, bringing an alliance between the elves, ruled by the Celestials and rulers of the eastern most provinces, and the Shadow Demons, rulers of the western provinces.

“Roxy?” Sora whispered.

“Yeah, Sor?”

“I don’t think we should go,”

“What do you mean? Why not?”

“Well, what if something happens to father, and someone else tries to take the throne?” the brunet explained.

“Sora, you know only someone of royal blood can even attempt to claim the throne, grandfather made sure of that. So unless Cloud and Leon somehow broke the laws of nature, and one of them is pregnant, you and I are the only ones, well I guess Cloud too, but he doesn’t want it and neither do I, who can claim the throne,”

“You seem very certain of that,” a voice leered from behind them.

The twins whirled around to face the owner of the voice, only to find no one there, only a flicker of a shadow hall closing.

“Roxy?” Sora squeaked, the rest of the question left unsaid, Roxas already knowing what his brother was implying, it was a twin thing that they couldn’t explain, but at times like these were very grateful for.

“Yeah, you’re right. On three?”

Sora nodded, taking a breath to calm his nerves. Roxas grabbed the bust and started counting, eyes shifting every which way for their attacker. On three he threw the bust, apologizing to his great-grandfather as he did so, at the window opposite them, shattering the glass outwards. Sora and Roxas weren’t far behind the stone head, vaulting through the opening and sprinting across the courtyard to the gates. They were almost out, mere meters away from the gate, so close to escape. Five meters became four, then three, then…

Roxas skidded to a halt as a shadow hall appeared before them, and someone who was definitely not Lexeaus stepped out. Sora, not paying full attention to his surroundings, crashed in Roxas’ back, thankful he used his palms to brace himself and not the bladed side of his weapon.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” the man sneered, or it sounded like he did, his mask blocked the twins from reading his facial expressions, “The twin princes of Hallow Bastion? Running away? That’s not very noble, now is it?”

“Who the fuck are you?” Roxas barked at the masked man, wishing their father hadn’t neutralized their powers.

“Let’s just say I’m a long lost relative,”

“A relative? That’s not possible though, is it?” Sora asked.

“And why not?”

“Because our father was the only heir our grandfather had, and he only had three children,” Sora said, thinking back to lesson they had had on their family history.

“And you think it’s not possible for someone to hide a child away? For your father to have an affair? Hah, if you believe that you’re more naive than I originally though. You don’t deserve to be king, you half-breed!” the man snarled.

Not many things could get Sora truly angry, he was usually a clam, level headed guy, but when he did get angry, it was best to stay out of his way. One of the few things that never failed to piss off the brunet was when someone questioned his legitimacy to the throne because he wasn’t a full shadow demon like the previous kings.

At that remark Roxas felt his brother tense up behind him, and moved to place a reassuring hand on the brother’s shoulder. Sora shrugged it off and shifted to a fighting stance.

“Oh, did I hit a nerve?” the masked man mocked, like he was talking to a little kid, “Well then, let’s see what you’ve got,” he summoned a large claymore, raising it to strike, but Sora was faster, not slowed by a heavy weapon.

Sora was behind the man in the blink of an eye, a bladed knuckle poised at the back of the intruder’s neck. He didn’t get the chance to attack though, Lexeaus appeared next to Roxas, a deadly glare aimed at the intruder.

“Boys, you need to run, I’ll deal with him. Sora, you should be able to use a shadow hall to get away soon, when you do, get as far away as you can, I’ll find you once everything has calmed down. Now GO!” Lexeaus ordered as countered a strike from the masked man.

Roxas, who jumped to Sora’s side once the other two had began their battle, nodded in understanding before pulling Sora away from the fight. Dragging the older twin behind him, Roxas sprinted out the gate and into the city beyond. Hallow Bastion was a huge city, no surprise as it was the seat of power in the mythic’s land; where Disney Town was the seat of power in the mundane’s land. Roxas lead them through alleyways and backstreets, hoping to put a great deal of distance between them and the palace before Sora opened a shadow hall and got them to Insomnia.

“Roxas! Sora!” a female voice called from a nearby alley, causing the two elves to stumble to an awkward stop.

“Olette?” Sora said, staring in confusion at the brown haired girl.

“Come on, follow me,” she said, waving the princes to follow her.

Sharing a brief look, the twins darted after their friend as she lead them down into the tunnels that ran under the city.

“What, in the Light of the Stars, is going on? Why are you two not at the palace? And where are your guards?” she asked once they were deep within the tunnels.

“The palace was attacked, I guess after the attack on the Kingdom, Xemnas left a mole behind, allowing him to infiltrate the palace. They must have been impersonating a guard or something because Lex said that the guard had been compromised, he also told us to run after some guy in a mask pissed off Sora. It sounded like he might have asked father to de-neutralize our powers, but I’m not sure, but yeah, a lot is going on,” Roxas explained.

“Fucking Stars…” Olette gasped.

“Yeah… It’s not good. You, Pence, and Hayner should stay low, if you can get out of the city, just do what you can to not get mixed up in all this,” Sora said.

“We’ll try, but you know how Hayner gets, and if finds out Seifer is fighting there’s no way I’ll get him to leave,” Olette replied.

Sora nodded slowly, thinking about their blond friend and his odd relationship with Seifer. The two used to hate each other then one day they showed up holding hands like they had been dating for years. It was weird. Just as Sora was about to comment on the whole situation a harsh shudder wrecked his body, a similar but smaller tremor going through Roxas, alerting them to their magic returning. Sora was much more in tune with his magic, so it was no shock that he had a stronger reaction to it’s return.

“Sorry Olette,” Sora began, opening a shadow hall next to him, “I wish we could stay and help you with Hay, and Pence, but we need to get out of the city, that guy with the mask seemed to be after us, specifically, and fuck only knows what he’ll do if he finds us,” the brunet’s voice was shaky, as he did his best to regain his composure after the influx of power.

“We’ll do our best to keep in touch, but I don’t know when we’ll see you guys again, so stay safe, and keep those idiots we call friends out of trouble,” Roxas said, helping Sora over to the portal.

“Alright, don’t die out there, the Kingdom needs you, see you soon,” she said, giving them both a hug.

Sora smiled and grasped his brother’s hand and stepped through the purple and black shadowy veil, taking them to the safe house.

“So you finally made it? And this is your safe house? Not really all that safe, I was ab;e to walk right in,” a distinctly familiar voice said before the two shadow elves had even fully exited the shadow hall.

“The fuck? How the hell did you get here? There’s a blood ward on the house, only those of royal blood can enter,” Roxas growled, raising his sword to strike the masked man down.

“I told you before, I’m a relative,” he snapped, “And now that you’re here I can finally get rid of you, leaving the throne open for the taking,” he barked, his own claymore materializing in his hands.

But before another fight could take place, Sora had pulled Roxas through another shadow hall, taking them away from the safe house and the man who wished to take their lives. He stumbled out, almost falling to his knees in exhaustion, but was caught by his brother, who helped him remain upright.

“Are you okay? Why did you do that?” the bland questioned, looking his twin over for injuries.

“I- I’m okay, just a bit drained, I’m not used to traveling such long distances in such quick succession...” Sora said tiredly.

“But that doesn’t explain _why_ you did it,” Roxas pressed.

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt fighting that guy! There’s something not right about him,” Sora said, shivering slightly as he remembered the feeling he got from him at the safe house.

Roxas sighed, he knew his brother was just looking out for him, but that wasn’t his job. There was nothing he could about it now though, Sora had taken them away, he wasn’t exactly sure where they were actually.

“Sor? Where did you take us?”

“Um… I don’t know, I just wanted to get us away, I didn’t really have an exact location in mind,” Sora answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What!? Sora, you know how dangerous it is to use a shadow hall without a proper destination in mind! What if you accidentally took us to an enemy base? Or landed us in the middle of the fucking ocean?!” Roxas shouted, angry that his brother, the more planned out one, would do something so, incredibly stupid.

“I know that! You think I don’t remember the lessons? Or the stories? But you shouting at me isn’t going to fix anything, so would you shut up and help me figure out where we are!?” Sora snapped.

Roxas flinched at his brother’s harsh tone, not used to being on the receiving end of Sora’s anger. The brunet shot him a final glare before slumping against a rock and looking at their surroundings.

Wherever they had ended up was in dire need of a rain storm, the ground was bone dry, cracking under the intense heat of the sun. What little foliage that managed to survive the scorching rays was barely hanging on, withered and brown and starving for even the smallest drop of water. Beyond the valley they landed in stood huge, cloud breaking peaks, all sheer faced cliffs that would near impossible to climb for even the most experienced of climbers.

“Shit...” Sora cursed as he realized where he had taken them.

“What? DO you know where we are?”

“Yeah… and it’s not good,”

“Sora?”

“We’re in the Keyblade Graveyard.”

“Fucking Stars, Sora! How the fuck did you get us here, of all places?”

The Keyblade Graveyard was the site of one of the bloodiest wars in history. Over seven hundred and fifty year ago, before the lands lived in peace, a great war raged between the Mythics and Mundanes. But it wasn’t just between the two races, within the Mythics own ranks was conflict. The Shadow Demons, who had ruled the land since the birth of the Stars, were being challenged for their rule by the Elves. It was at the Keyblade Graveyard that the final battle took place, a battle the lasted twelve long days before a treaty was drawn up and signed, bringing a tentative peace between the races. The land was now considered sacred ground, only to be visited on the anniversary of the battle, which was still three months away.

“I don’t know! But we have to leave, like now!” Sora said, freaking out a bit. If any of the other races found out they had been there when they weren’t supposed to be, it could start another war.

“Leave? Already? But I just got here,”

“Seriously? Fucking how? How , in fucking Stars, did you find us?” Roxas yelled, equal parts exasperated, angry, and murderous that the masked man had found them so fast, “No, actually, I don’t care,” he leapt forward, bringing Oathkeeper up to strike down on the man’s head with the intent to kill.

His opponent countered the strike with ease, something that alarmed both Roxas and Sora, who was still leaning against the rock, too drained to do much else. Roxas’ opponent followed his counter with a low sweep at the blond’s legs. Jumping over the foot that set out to knock him down, Roxas side stepped to avoid a well aimed thrust at his gut with the claymore. The elf lunged forward, thrusting his sword at the man’s shoulder. He only managed to nick the flesh, the other man was fast even with such a large weapon, but it was enough to give the prince the opening he needed. He jumped up and brought the hilt of his sword down, forcefully smashing it into the man’s head, effectively knocking him out and breaking the mask.

Roxas moved back, breathing heavily and rubbing his right shoulder in relief. He was used to the structured fights he had training under Lexeaus, but this was nothing like that, he was lucky to have come out with only a sore shoulder and maybe a bruise or two. Looking over to where Sora stood, staring in shock at the man as the mask crumbled away, exposing his face. The blond couldn’t help the gasp that escaped his lips when he saw the man’s face. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn he was looking at Sora, the only noticeable difference he could find being the hair colour.

“Roxy? Why does he look like me? What the fuck is going on?” Sora asked, not taking his eyes off the unconscious man.

“I don’t know… I don’t know… But… Fuck. Can you open another shadow hall, or do you need me to? We can’t stay here, especially now, who knows what will happen if we’re still around when he wakes up,” Roxas answered.

Sora tried, but could manage a small flicker of shadow, “I- I don’t think I can, I used too much energy to get us here,” the brunet said, though he sounded distant, not fully there.

That didn’t surprise Roxas, he was impressed the crown prince was still standing after traveling so far to begin with.

“Alright, do you have any ideas on where we should go?”

Sora just shook his head, he didn’t care where they went as long as it was miles away from that man. Roxas sighed and went to stand by his brother, opening a shadow hall in front of them, hoping it would take them where he intended it to. Wrapping an arm around Sora’s waist, the two walked into the portal, emerging moments later in a back alley that smelled worse than the boys’ dirty laundry after an intense sparring match.

“Ugh! Where did you take us?” Sora groaned, covering his nose from the smell.

“I was trying to take us to Cloud’s house, but we both know I’m not as skilled as you at getting to the exact location,” Roxas said, sliding his sword into it’s sheath.

“You took us to Radiant Garden!?”

“I think so? I hope so, but for I all I know we ended up in Traverse Town,”

Sora stared at his twin as if he’d grown a second head.

“Don’t give me that look! It’s not like you had any better ideas, or could get us there!”

“Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get out of this alley, it smells like your socks, the ones you wear for weeks straight without changing, see if we can find Cloud. Hopefully you at least got us to the right city, and maybe even the right district,”

Just as Sora was about to step out onto the street Roxas stopped him, tugging him back into the alley.

“The fuck, Roxas? What’d you do that for?” the brunet snapped at his blond counterpart.

“You can't just go out there with those on,” Roxas said motioning to the bladed knuckles the elf wore.

Sora looked down and flushed at the tips of his pointed ears as he removed them. It was then that they realized neither of them had a bag to store the weapons in. They didn’t have time to ponder up a solution though, as one of the doors to the alley opened and a slim girl with long black hair tied up in a ponytail stepped out with a garbage bag in each hand. She froze when she saw the two young men standing there, bags dropping to the ground with a thud. She didn’t have time to react, Roxas was on her in a flash, pinning her to the wall and holding his dagger to her throat.

“Roxas! What the- What are you doing?” Sora exclaimed, trying to pull his brother off the poor girl.

Roxas merely shrugged him off, growling at the girl, “Who are you and what are you doing out here?”

“I- I’m Y- Yuffie Kisaragi, I was just taking out the trash,” she squeaked out, eyes wide with fear as Roxas pressed the dagger closer to the skin.

“Please don’t kill me, I- I just want to finish my final year at uni,”

“Uni? Which University?” Sora asked.

“R- Radiant Garden University,”

“Radiant Garden? Roxas, you did it, you got us to the right city,” Sora praised, “Now would please let her go, she’s not going to hurt us,”

“How can you know that? You’ve always been too trusting Sora! Not everyone is going to be your friend, when are you going to learn that?” Roxas bit back, anger bringing a violent flush to his pale features.

Yuffie glanced between the brothers, terror evident in her eyes. She dared not move, having a dagger centimeters from her jugular kept any thoughts of escape far away.

“He’s right, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise on my life,” she pleaded, looking more towards Sora than Roxas.

“So you go to Radiant Garden U? Do you know a professor Leonhart?” Roxas questioned.

“Prof Leonhart? Y-Yeah, I know him, he’s my Mythics professor,”

“That’s great! Do you know where he lives?” Sora asked, bright blue eyes wide with hope.

“Umm, no… But I have my Mythics lecture tomorrow, I can take you guys with me, if you want,” she said, still pressing into the wall to get away from Roxas and the blade.

“That’d be great! Do you have somewhere we could stay until then?”

“Sora! Would you stop! We just met this chick, and you want to stay with her?” Roxas snarled.

“Calm down Roxas, and let her go,” Sora said calmly, but the authority in his tone was not one to be argued with.

Roxas groaned in agitation, but did release the girl, though he didn’t move to put his dagger away. Yuffie slumped down, breathing a gasp of relief now that the immediate threat was gone.

“Why do you guys need to see professor Leonhart anyways?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not so much him we need to see, but his boyfriend,” Sora explained, “Is okay if we crash with you tonight? We don’t really have anywhere to go,”

“Uh, yeah, I guess? I don’t know who you are but I get the feeling saying no isn’t an option?” she side eyed Roxas at this, “So, yeah? I just gotta go clock out and then I’ll pull my car around and we can head to my place...”

“Great, I’m Sora, by the way, and that’s Roxas, my brother,”

Roxas scowled at his brother, doing nothing to hide his displeasure with the situation he was now stuck in. Yuffie grinned weakly, then went back through the door she had come out of. Roxas huffed and leaned against the wall where he had held Yuffie only moments before, a brooding aura oozing from his person. Sora moved to stand by his brother, not wanting to keep fighting.

“Hey… I know you don’t like this, I don’t either if we’re being honest, but we can’t go back right now, who knows what happened after we left. We’ll be safe with Cloud, only father and a select few of the guard knew he was in the Mundane Land,” Sora said, reaching down to take Roxas’ hand n his.

Roxas let the older elf squeeze his hand, returning the gesture halfheartedly, “I know, I know… I just feel like I’ve failed you somehow...”

“Failed me? Roxas, you could never fail me! Or let me down! Or anything! You’re my brother, my twin! How could you ever think you failed me?” Sora exclaimed.

Roxas was quiet for a moment, thinking of how best to reply. As he opened his mouth to respond a car pulled up to the entrance of the alley and Yuffie rolled down the passenger window to call them over. Even though he didn’t really want to go with the girl, he was thankful for the distraction. Leading Sora over to the car, they clamored into the back seat, buckling their seat belts before Yuffie sped off to her apartment.

“So where are two from? If you don’t mind me asking? ‘Cause y’know, with the ears and all, not something I see a lot of around here, ‘cept on Cloud, do guys know Cloud? You must if that’s why you want to see my prof. Are you guys related to him? ‘Cause you kinda look like him, especially you blondie,” Roxas prickled at the nickname, growling lowly, “Hey calm down, I’m just teasing, but you really do look like him, Are you guys from the Mythic Land? That would make sense with why you didn’t know where you were, or I think you didn’t. Anyways, if you are, that is so cool! I want to go visit the Mythic Land, even more now that I’ve had a few of my Mythics lectures. It just sounds so cool! So is that where you’re from? If so how’d ya get here? And end up in the alley? And what’s with the weapons?”

When she finally stopped Roxas and Sora could only stare at the girl, blinking slowly as they took it all in. Sora wasn’t sure whether or not to be impressed that she said all in one breath, maybe she had some siren blood in her or something.

“Oh, sorry, I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous, or excited, or scared, or, well, I just talk a lot...”

Roxas shot her another glare and turned to look out the window. Sora was still trying to comprehend everything, head tilted to the side in thought. The rest of the ride was filled music from a local station, some pop songs that grated on Roxas’ nerves but had Sora nodding his head to the beat.

About twenty minutes later Yuffie pulled up to her apartment complex, the off campus housing for the university, parking outside building C in her designated spot. Sora and Roxas got out of the car, following the dark haired girl up tot he third floor.

“Welcome to my apartment! Are you guys hungry? Bathroom is down the hall, first door on the left, across from the spare room,” Yuffie said, removing her shoes and tossing her backpack into the corner by the door, “I’ll see what food I have if you two want to get settled, extra towels are under the sink, feel free to make yourselves at home,”

Sora nodded and moved to go to the spare room, Roxas close behind. The blond shut the door behind him and stood in front of it preventing Yuffie from just walking in and his twin from leaving. Sora didn’t notice at first, too busy using the shadows to check for any threats, finding none he turned back to his brother with a tired smile.

“Did you find anything?” Roxas whispered, not wanting to be overheard.

“No, nothing,” the older elf replied.

“Goo,” Roxas’ stiff posture lessened somewhat at that, “I guess we’ll be safe enough for tonight then, but we need to get to Cloud’s tomorrow, he’ll have extra protection around his house, and a way to contact father to let him know where we are,”

“Yeah, I know-

“You guys still awake? I don’t really have much in the way of food, you okay with pizza?” Yuffie called through the door.

“Yeah, we’re awake,” Sora said after a moment of a having a silent conversation with Roxas, he opened the door to gin brightly at the girl, “Pizza sounds great, but we’ll pay, you’re already letting us stay here, you don’t need to go out of your way to get us food,”

“No, it’s okay, I got it, any special requests for the pizza?”

“If you’re sure… We both tend to eat a lot, so it might be best to get each our own, both with everything on it,” Sora said.

“Okie-dokie then, two large everything pizzas, and one small cheese, coming up,”

That night was spent in awkward conversations, pizza eating, and all that jazz. Soon enough everyone was crawling into bed, preparing themselves for what the next day would hold, and what a day it would be...


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so this was supposed to be a Riku chapter, but I realized that if I did that, with what I have going for the Riku chapter, there would have been a lot of unanswered questions that would have lead up to it. So here's another Sora/Roxas chapter, but the next one will be a Riku chapter, I promise!

After an awkward breakfast, Yuffie tried to make conversation but Roxas would just glare and occasionally snarl while Sora was too focused on inhaling his third bowl of cereal, the trio loaded into Yuffie’s car and headed off to the university. The lecture wasn’t until 9:30, but with Sora and Roxas needing to speak with the professor, Yuffie thought it best to get there early and have them wait until the class ended an hour and half later. They came to a stop outside a nondescript brick building, the parking lot only starting to fill up as students and professors alike began to arrive for the day. The twins followed the dark haired inside as she lead to the main lecture hall, hoping that Leon would be there already.

He wasn’t, but there was still a good fifteen minutes before class started so they weren’t too surprised. A couple of students were already there, setting up laptops and getting notebooks ready, one guy in the back was just straight up sleeping while his friend glared at him. It wasn’t much later that Leon walked in, messenger bag hanging off his shoulder while he took a generous sip of his coffee, heading straight to the podium without a second glance at the students currently present.

Sora and Roxas wasted no time dashing up to the grumpy man, hoping he would be able to lead them to their brother.

“Umm, hey, Leon?” Sora started, not quite sure how to begin.

“I thought I told you not to call me that? Now what do you want? Class starts five minutes and I still have to get the powerpoint up,” he snapped, not looking up from where he was unloading his bag.

“Leon?” Sora tried again.

“What?” the brunet barked, head whipping up to glare death at the poor soul who had dared disrupt him, “Sora? Roxas? What the hell are you two doing here?” his anger faded fast at the sight of the elves.

“It’s kinda a long story...”

“We were hoping you help us get to Cloud? A lot has happened and we need somewhere safe to stay for a while,” Roxas said.

“Safe? Why would you need somewhere safe? Why aren’t you at the palace? Fuck… it’s too early for this,” Leon moaned, running a tired hand over his face, “Okay, gave me a minute and we’ll go find Cloud,” Leon said, grabbing a sheet of paper and a marker.

He made a quick note stating that class was canceled, he would send out an e-mail to his other classes to let them know that those would also be canceled. He slapped it on the door, and without another word to the students who were watching the exchange, walked out of the room, Sora and Roxas in tow. The twins shared a confused look but followed their brother’s lover to his car.

“You’re not going to tell me anything until Cloud is here are you?” Leon asked, starting up the engine to his truck.

“Sorry,” Sora said, shaking his head in the negative.

Leon simply sighed and drove off to his house, praying Cloud was still home and not out at some yoga class that he seemed to enjoy. The tension was thick, but not unbearably so as they pulled into the driveway. The small house had a cozy feel to it, definitely Cloud’s doing as Leon would have rather just had the bare minimums, and had it appear as though no one lived there. The door swung open before the boys had even gotten out of the car, Cloud’s head popping out of the opening.

“Leon? I thought you had class?” the blond called to his boyfriend.

“Something came up and I had to cancel,” Leon answered back.

“But you never cancel? What could have been so important for you to do something so extreme?”

Leon nodded to Sora and Roxas who were standing just out of sight of their brother, and they stepped forward.

“Hey Cloud,” Sora said, a nervous smile plastered on his face as he waved to the older elf.

“Sora? Roxas? What the Stars? What are you doing here? In the Mundane Land? Does father know you’re here? Why aren’t you at the palace?” Cloud flooded the boys with questions as he ran over to them, wrapping them both in a tight hug, “How did you get here? Come inside, I’ll make some coffee and you can tell me,”

“Cloud, you’re suffocating them,” Leon said, “Give them a chance to breathe and get settled,”

Cloud looked down at the twins and backed away, but didn’t take his eyes off them. It had been far too long since he last them, it was times like this he almost regretted moving to the Mundane Land, but one look at his boyfriend swept those regrets right under the carpet. He lead the group into the house, going straight for the kitchen where he pulled out four coffee mugs, and a bottle of vodka, because somehow he just knew this was going to be a long story.

Once everyone had their coffee, no vodka just yet, Cloud looked at his brothers expectantly. Sora and Roxas shared a glance deciding between them who would be the one to break the news, it was decided it would be Sora. The brunet told the older men of everything that had happened in the Mythic Land up to the point that they left; explaining how the Kingdom had been attacked, twice, how Xaldin had been killed, and about the strange masked man who looked almost identical to Sora. Sora swiped the vodka bottle and took a large swig after he finished, needing something to calm himself.

“Well shit...” Cloud said, taking the bottle from Sora and gulping down a hearty swallow.

“Well, it sounds like you two will be staying here for the foreseeable future,” Leon sighed, getting up and taking his mug over to the sink.

“If that’s okay with you guys?” Roxas said.

“Of course it is! Where else would you stay?” Cloud replied.

“Well we crashed with one of Leon’s students last night, after Roxas threatened her,” Sora said.

“Who?” Leon asked.

“Some girl, Yuffie, I think it was?” Roxas said, trying to remember the girl who had let them crash at her place.

“Yuffie…? Ah, yes, I’ll have to give her a few extra credit points, not that she needs them,” the professor said, thinking of how to thank his student.

While Leon was lost to his thoughts Cloud bustled around, showing the twins to the guest bedroom, and showing them around the house.

“Oh, you’re going to need some more clothes, you can’t keep wearing the same thing everyday...” the older blond said, looking at the rumpled state of the twins’ clothes, “We can go get you some new clothes in a bit, if you want? Actually, we’re going whether you want to or not, because you need clothes,”

“Shouldn’t we try to contact father and let him know where we are?” Roxas asked.

“Yes, but if everything you told me is true, I believe it to be, then that might not be an option,” Cloud said, a serious look crinkling his brow.

“What do you mean?”

“If Xemnas was able to gain access to the guards’ com system, then it’s highly probable that, if he succeeded and now has control of the palace, the secure line I use to keep in touch with father would also be compromised,”

“Shit… So what do you suggest we do? Father has no idea where we are, and it’s not like we can just go back,”

“Well, the safest thing is for you to stay here, it’s possible someone will try to contact me about your whereabouts once things have calmed down, if they do,”

They fell into silence after that. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t any tension in the air. When Leon entered the room, just finishing up sending out an email to his later classes letting them know that class was canceled, he looked at the serious faces of the room’s occupants and frowned.

“Okay, what’s with the mood? I know at least one of you is usually all smiles and good vibes,” Leon commented.

“Sorry, it’s just… thinking about everything that happened yesterday...” Sora said with a sigh.

“Well, then let’s see if we can get your mind off of that, and also be productive and get you two some new clothes,” Cloud said, rising off from he had sat on the couch.

The suggestion earned twin groans from the younger elves, though they knew that if they were to stay here for any period of time beyond just a night they would need a change of clothes.

*

Three stores and a burger later found the group wandering through the mall still needing a few more things before their shopping excursion could come to a close. They entered a darker looking shop, a heavy rock song pounding out of the speakers. Cloud and Leon shared a look as they followed the twins inside, not ones to normally frequent such a store. After only a few minutes Cloud had to leave, a headache forming from the loud music, he told Sora and Roxas that he and Leon would be just outside if they needed something before leaving the young men alone to do their shopping.

Sora sent his older brother a wave of acknowledgment and went back to sifting through the jackets. As he was pulling one out a girl with long red hair came up beside him and stared at him for a moment before introducing herself.

“I’m Shiki, you look a little lost, need some help?” she offered, looking at the pile of clothes he held.

“Um, well, I guess? I’m Sora, and that’s my brother, Roxas, he might need some help as well,” Sora said, noticing the girl already sorting through his pile and putting some of the items back.

She nodded, and set about finding clothes more suited to each prince’s personality, chatting to the both of them, though she did most of the talking, especially with Roxas.

“You know, you remind me of my friend Neku,” she said offhandedly, as she handed the blond a white jacket with a checkerboard trim, “Here, try this on,”

Sora giggled as his brother was shoved towards the changing room, Roxas detested shopping, and having some random girl start forcing him to try things on was just making it worse.

“So who’s this Neku? If Roxas reminds of him so much, I’ve got to meet him,” Sora laughed as he heard Roxas curse angrily as he changed into the outfit he had been handed.

“Oh, he’s one of my friends, he should be here soon to take me home, I’ll introduce you then,” Shiki smiled.

Soon was apparently within a few seconds, as a guy with spiky red hair walked up to Shiki, tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a look of someone who did not want to wait any longer than he had to.

“Oh, Neku! You’re here! This is Sora, he and his brother were looking for new clothes and I was just helping them,” she said brightly as Roxas exited the dressing room, a scowl on his face as he stalked over to his brother.

“Don’t tell me, she didn’t give you much of a choice in her help?” Neku said softy, barely audible over the music.

“That’s one way to put it,” Roxas growled, forcing his pile of clothes onto Sora’s arms before starting to storm off.

“Roxas, wait!” Sora called out, but didn’t move to chase after the blond, “I’m sorry about him, he really doesn’t like shopping,”

“It’s all right, Neku doesn’t either, right Neku?’ Shiki asked the quiet man, who just gave a half shrug and turned to leave, “Well, um, anyways, if you and your brother are going to be in town for a while you should totally check out Club Oblivion, one of our friends works there and is doing a set this Friday, if you want to come that is?”

“A club? I’ll have to check with my brothers, but I’d love to come, this Friday?” Sora asked.

“Mhmmm, hopefully I’ll see you there, if not, you know where I work if you ever want to hang out,” she said as she lead the brunet up to the register. She got Sora all sorted out, handing him the two bags with both his and Roxas’ purchases and clocked out, exiting the store with elf at her side. They found Neku and Roxas leaning against the barrister that looked down to the first floor, both ignoring the other.

“Hey Roxy, you ready? I think we have everything we need?” Sora asked his brother.

“Yeah, let’s go find Cloud and Leon and get the hell out of here,” Roxas said and started to pull Sora away.

“Bye Shiki! Neku! I’ll see what I can do about Friday!” Sora called out as he was dragged away. They met up with their older brother and Leon, who said nothing about how long they had been in the store, but did agree that it was time to go. Loading all their purchases into Leon’s truck, they headed back to their brother’s house.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riku's POV!
> 
> Also sorry for the long wait! Life got really crazy last month and just yeah! I'll try to be better about updating this, but I do have another fic I am also working on so.... but this has places it's going!
> 
> Anywho! enjoy!

Riku sat at his desk, wire framed reading glasses sliding down his nose as he stared at the document he had open on his laptop. He was almost done with his assignment, but he had hit a block and no matter what he did, he couldn’t get the words to flow properly. Just as he was about to give up for the day a small explosion from across the hall startled him out of his chair. He was thankful his headphones had such a long cord or his laptop would have joined him on the floor.

Muttering a slew of colourful expletives under his breath the silver haired man removed himself from the floor and went to locate the source of the disruption. His first assumption was that it was his roommate, Axel. The red haired man had a disturbing habit of setting things on fire, he had almost burned down their apartment on more than one occasion, it happened so often that they had their rent upped for security reasons. It was a miracle that they hadn’t been evicted. But, Riku remembered, Axel was in class at the moment, and the only other person that was home was…

“Are you trying to compete with Axel on who can burn the place down first?” Riku quipped as he leaned against the door frame of his brother’s room.

The older man looked up from the smoking book in his lap, a thin layer of soot blanketing his face as he glared at his brother.

“Ha ha, very funny,” the slate haired man snarked.

Zexion, Riku’s older brother, looked very similar to the younger, both sported varying shades of silver hair; Riku’s was more reminiscent of the moonlight on a calm winter’s night, whilst the elder’s was darker, more of slate or steel shade. They each had mesmerizing blue eyes, Zexion’s a stunning azure, Riku’s a vibrant, unusual shade of aqua. Though Riku was the younger, he was the taller of the two, standing a good three inches taller.

“What were you even trying to do?” Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I was trying a new spell,”

Though he was technically a Mundane, Zexion had discovered that he had a natural inclination to the mystic arts, something their father very much did **not** approve of. No one on the their family had any Mythic blood as far as they knew, so the fact that Zexion was able to do any bit of magic was surprising to say the least. Riku had never shown any signs of being able to any magic.

“A fire spell?”

“No, it was a levitation spell...”

“So how…?”

“Yo! Riku! Zexion! You guys home?” a voice shouted as the front door slammed shut.

“Yes, we’re home, what do you want?” Riku answered as Zexion wiped the soot from his face.

The brothers left the bedroom and went to meet their third roommate in the living room, neither having a clue as to what Axel could want.

“Great! You’re both here,” Axel clapped his hands together in glee, “Do either of you have plans Friday night, I know you don’t,” he looked to Riku, “But what about you, Zex?”

“Excuse me, how do you know I don’t have plans?” Riku glared at the red head. Sure he was right, Riku didn’t have any plans, he rarely did, and when he did, Axel was usually the one to plan them. Riku wasn’t a particularly social person, preferring to stay at home with a good book or work on his novel instead of going out to overly crowded clubs where he would just sit in a corner until his headache got the better of him or Axel took pity and let him leave. It was usually the former.

“Because you never have plans, you’re basically a social recluse,” Axel stated bluntly, “And if you did, I would know because I would have planned those plans,”

Riku scowled at the taller man, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the back of the couch, “I could have had plans...” he muttered under his breath.

“What’s happening Friday night?” Zexion asked, trying to bring the topic back on it’s original track.

“A party at Oblivion, Marly’s gonna propose to Larxene,” Axel said excitedly, “Marly has it all planned out, after some rando finishes their set, probably around ten, your little boy-toy, Demyx, is gonna take over. He’s gonna open with Larxene’s favorite song, then stop everything so all the attention can be on those two, and then Marly is gonna pop the question,”

With how excited Axel was you’d think he was the one getting proposed to.

“He’s finally doing it? ‘Bout time,” Zexion said.

Riku could only agree, Marluxia and Larxene had been together for as long he had known them, it was clear they were hopelessly in love with each other.

“Yup, so of course everyone is expected to be there, and that includes you two,”

Zexion nodded, seeing no reason not to go, then returned to his room. Axel turned to Riku, waiting for the silveret’s response.

“I’m only agreeing because Larx would kill me if I wasn’t there,” Riku stated, “But I’m leaving after he asks,”

“Fine,” Axel conceded.

*

Friday night came all too fast for Riku’s liking, he found himself tucked away in a booth nursing his glass of whiskey, thanking his mother for her high tolerance that she passed on to him. It was only almost nine and the young man wanted nothing more than to go home. Downing the rest of his drink, he got up to order another one. The only good thing about the night was that Luxord was covering their group’s tab, for two reasons; one being he owned the club, the other and probably the reason for it that night, Larxene was his daughter and he loved her dearly.

“Another whiskey on the rocks, please,” Riku ordered.

The woman taking his order nodded and went about preparing the drink. As he waited he turned to face the dance floor where most of friends had disappeared to. But before he could locate any of his companions his eyes landed on a small brunet who was struggling to remove himself from a tall, blond man’s grip. Normally Riku would’ve ignored such a scene, not one to get involved in business that had nothing to do with him, but his gut was telling him he shouldn’t let the blond get away with the brunet.

Walking over to the pair, Riku was able to get a better look at both men. The blond was older, his hair long, and fairly slim, he didn’t look all that string, but looks could be deceiving. The brunet, on the other hand, was quite petite, his spiky hair making him appear only a few inches taller than he truly was.His bright sapphire orbs were darting around, looking for anyone who could help him get out of the man’s grasp. When they fell on Riku, the silent pleading screaming from those distressed eyes drew the silveret to the rescue.

“There you are babe, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Riku said, coming up along side the brunet and wrapping an arm around the smaller man, “Who’s this?”

“Oh! Hey,” the brunet played along, leaning into Riku’s touch, “This is...” the smaller man looked to the blond who was still holding his arm, as if waiting for him to fill in the blank.

“Vexen,” the slim man ground out through clenched teeth.

“Well, Vexen, I’m Riku, and I’d appreciate if you took your hands off my boyfriend,” Riku didn’t know where this side of himself came from, he was rarely, if ever, this forward and aggressive, at least towards people he didn’t know; Axel was a different story.

Vexen sneered at the taller of the duo, tightening his grip on the brunet before throwing his arm down, “We’ll meet again, your highness, and next time you won’t be so lucky,” the ominous threat was the last they heard from the man before he disappeared into the shadows.

“Thank you for that,” the brunet said after Vexen was gone, rubbing his sore arm and smiling up at Riku.

“Yeah, no problem,” Riku replied, not quite sure what to do now, Vexen had called the smaller man ‘your highness’, what had that been about?

“I’m Sora, by the way,” the brunet introduced, sticking his hand out in greeting.

“Riku,” Riku took the hand and shook it, “Why was that guy after you? And why did he call you ‘your highness’?”

“Oh… It’s kinda a long story, and this isn’t the best place for one of those,” Sora said, avoiding the question best he could, shouting over the thumping bass.

Riku nodded in agreement, the pulsating music resonating with the headache that had been growing behind his forehead was not something to try to tell a story over.

“Well, I should probably get back to my friends, watch yourself, alright?” Riku said turning away from Sora, emotions conflicting with his stoic nature.

“Oh, okay,” Sora said, sounding almost...sad?

“Do you need help finding your friends?” once again Riku didn’t know where the forwardness of his actions were coming from, but the grin that lit up the brunet’s face made it worth it.

“If it’s not too much to ask? I came here with my brother and few people we met earlier this week, but Shiki dragged Neku over to see their friend when we got here, and Roxas got dragged off by some red head just before that Vexen guy showed up,” Sora explained.

Riku shrugged and nodded, it’s not like he had anything better to do, and something about the brunet intrigued him. Like he knew him some how… As they walked over to the bar, Riku took the opportunity to look the other man over more carefully. His gaze didn’t make it very far, freezing on the pointed ears.

“You’re a Mythic?” Riku said, not realizing he had said so out loud, and loud enough for Sora to hear him.

“Technically I’m a shadow elf, but, yes, I’m a Mythic. That isn’t a problem is it?” Sora corrected.

“N-No, not at all, sorry, I’ve just… My father isn’t the biggest supporter of Mythics living in the Mundane Land… I don’t agree with him, but… Stars, I just sound like a complete ass, sorry…” Riku rambled out the apology.

“You don’t sound like a _complete_ ass,” Sora laughed, “Only a partial ass. It’s okay though, I get it. Not everyone is a fan of my people, but you’re not your father, so… I don’t actually know where I was going with this,”

Riku couldn’t help but chuckle at Sora’s confused pout, the small elf was just too cute – Wait, cute? He had just barely met the guy, he didn’t know anything about him. Plus it was doubtful they’d ever see each other again after tonight, and Riku didn’t do one-night-stands. Doing his best to squash those thoughts, the aqua eyed man turned to face the crowd, trying to look for Sora’s brother, even though he had no clue what he looked like.

“You said your brother got dragged off by a red head? Was he tall? Obnoxiously loud?” Riku asked suddenly.

“Yeah, that sounds about right, why? Do you know the guy?”

“Unfortunately,” Riku sighed, “He’s my best friend, but a total idiot when he’s drunk, and a very touchy flirt,” Riku just hoped Axel had enough sense to not make a huge scene.

“Really? Oh, Stars! Roxy is gonna kill me,” Sora cackled.

“Roxy?”

“Yeah, my brother, I’m the only one he let’s call him that,” Sora explained.

Riku nodded again, and began leading the elf through the crowd in search of Roxas and Axel. It didn’t take all that long to locate two, especially after Axel let out a shriek of pain. They found the red head hunched over, hands covering his family jewels, while an angry blond clone of Sora stood in front of said red head with a victorious smirk on his face.

“Damn, you’re feisty, you sure you don’t wanna slip away for some alone time?” Axel groaned with a wink that was probably supposed to be sexy, but with the pained wince, it just looked sad.

“Really, Axel? Do you have no shame?” Riku quipped as he followed Sora to stand beside the blond elf.

“Sora? There you are! Who’s this?” Roxas asked, noticing his brother’s presence and that he wasn’t alone.

“This is Riku, he saved me from some guy who called himself Vexen,” Sora told his twin, “He said he’s friends with him, Riku, not Vexen,” Sora motioned to Axel who was staring with great interest at the elves.

Riku recognized the look, it was Axel’s ‘I have a great idea’ look he only got when he was wasted.

“Axel don-” Riku tried to stop his friend.

“You two are twins? You ever made out with each other?” Axel asked.

“Have we ever what?!” Roxas asked slowly, murderous intent gleaming in his eyes.

“You know, made out, kissed, touched each other?” the red head asked again, not getting the memo that he was supposed to shut up.

“Excuse me, Axel, was it?” Sora began, “Yeah, don’t ever ask that again,”

“So does that mean you have?” Axel barely got the words out before a fist was making solid contact with his face.

“Holy shit!”

“He deserved that,”

“Fuck your face is hard,” Sora complained, shaking his fist in pain, “What are you some kind of elemental?”

“Come one Sora, let’s go, Cloud didn’t want us to stay out too late, and that guy is killing my mood,” Roxas said, glaring at Axel, “You can call Shiki tomorrow and tell her what happened,”

“I’ll walk you guys out, if that’s alright?” Riku offered.

Sora grinned and looped an arm through Riku’s. Roxas, meanwhile, sent the taller man a suspicious look, took Sora’s free hand and pulled him, and subsequently Riku, towards the door. Riku frowned slightly at Roxas’ actions, not sure what he did to get on the blond’s bad side so fast. Sora didn’t notice the exchange, too preoccupied trying to keep a hold of the silver haired man while also being dragged like a small child behind his younger twin.

“Roxas, slow down, you’re going to pull my arm off!” Sora yelled at his brother.

Roxas didn’t say anything, but did slow his pace.

Sora frowned, not understanding his brother’s sudden shift in mood.

Riku was just trying to not get left behind.

When they got to the door, and then outside, Riku was still tagging along, much to Roxas’ displeasure. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the silveret set him on edge. Warning bells blaring loudly in his head to keep him away from Sora. But… Sora seemed so relaxed with the guy… Then again, this was Sora – the same elf who tried to befriend a behemoth, and still believed in the legends about Dreameaters – so his judgment wasn’t always to be trusted. Roxas tugged Sora away from Riku, wanting to get away from the club before that red head could come after him. Luck didn’t seem to be on Roxas’ side though, as a red head had followed them out, he was only lucky enough that it wasn’t the same one that had tried to molest him earlier.

“Riku! There you are!” a short girl with cranberry coloured hair exclaimed as she came out of the club, “Oh, who’s this?”

“No one,” Roxas growled and yanked Sora away, “We were just leaving,”

“Oh, good-bye then?” she said, confused as the unknown blond pulled the cute brunet away.

“Bye Riku!” Sora called out as he disappeared around a corner.

“Sooo…?” the girl turned to her silver haired friend.

“So? So what, Kai?” Riku replied with his own question.

“Who was that? He was cute,”

“No one, it doesn’t matter anyways. Did you want something?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter? And yeah, I did, Marly’s about to propose, so you need to get your butt back inside and support your friend,” Kairi stated.

Riku sighed, thanked his friend, and went back inside Oblivion just in time to catch Marluxia asking the important question. He must have missed the whole big speech leading up to it, but at least he caught the part that mattered. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd to watch Larxene look down at the ring, studying it for a second before shouting ‘Yes!’ and pulling her fiance into a heated kiss. The whole club cheered and the music started up once more, Demyx now in charge of the set list. Riku smiled at the couple, walking over to congratulate them, and let them know he was leaving. Larxene flaunted her ring, a large pink diamond on a platinum band with smaller white diamonds surrounding it. It fit her well. They bid him farewell after he explained why he was leaving, a headache, and let him go without any further trouble.

Back outside Riku walked over to where he had parked, thankful he had driven himself and only had two drinks, and not let Axel drive him. Slipping the helmet on and mounting his bike, the silveret wondered if he would ever see the little elf ever again. As he rode through the University District all he could think about were those deep sapphire eyes, Riku was reminded of the ocean back home. He then wondered if Sora would ever want to go visit his home island with him some time. That thought was quickly pushed away as he let the logical part of his brain take over once more.

He pulled into his apartment complex and locked up his bike before heading up to his home. He was ready to enjoy a few hours of silence and solitude before Axel and Zexion returned home. The quiet hum of the A/C was all that met his ears, not even Luna, their white ball of cat shaped fluff, had gotten up to greet him. Speaking of Luna, Riku thought he should probably feed her. After filling her bowl and refilling the water, Riku retreated to his room to grab a pair of pajama pants to wear after he took a shower.

The shower was relaxing, the hot water washing away the stench of cigarettes and alcohol from his body and hair. Once thoroughly cleansed, the young man toweled himself off, blow dried his long hair so it wouldn’t get awkwardly curly, and went back to his room. Luna decided to emerge from wherever she had been sleeping, hopping up on the end of his bed and curling up to sleep again. Riku laughed at the cat’s behavior as he debated whether or not to get a cup of tea before he lost himself in the pages of a book.

Luna watched through one half open eye as he left, but she didn’t bother to follow him, to cozy and lazy to move. Riku filled the kettle, and while waiting for it to boil, shuffled through the variety of teas in the cupboard. He ended up choosing a sleepy time blend, letting it steep for a while as he went back to to his room and situated himself on his bed. Putting on his reading glasses and plucking up his book, he settled in for a cozy night. That’s how Axel and Zexion found him a few hours later, deeply entranced in the book while occasionally sipping his tea.

“There you are Riku!” Axel exclaimed, dramatically flopping across the silveret’s legs and flinging Luna to the floor with a hiss.

“Yes? Did you want something?” Riku asked, not looking up from his book, too used to Axel’s drunken habits.

“Riku! You have to help me! I think I’m in love!” Axel said, one hand clutching at his heart in an exaggerated fashion.

“You’re not in love. You just met them. Can you even tell me their name?” Riku recited the questions like reading a script, Axel claimed to be ‘in love’ at least once a month, so this was nothing new.

“I am too! Haven’t you ever heard of love at first sight? And I do to know his name!”

“Love at first sight? Really? You actually believe in that crap? And what’s his name then?”

“Just because you have no interest in love doesn’t mean it isn’t real. And his name is Roxas, for your information,”

“I am interested in love, thank you very much,” Riku retorted.

“Writing about it doesn’t count,” Axel countered.

“Wait did you say Roxas? Like, as in the blond that kicked you in the balls?”

Zexion let out a stifled snort at the statement, letting the others know of his presence by the door.

“Do you know anyone else named Roxas? And you, interested in love? Outside of writing about it? I don’t believe you. Ever since you and Ravus broke up you’ve been completely anti-love, and that was like five years ago,”

“First off, you know nothing about what happened with me and Ravus so shut your mouth before I shut it for you. I haven’t been completely anti-love, as you put it, I’m just waiting for the right guy. And secondly, I don’t even know that Roxas, and neither do you,” Riku said, glaring death at the red head.

“If you say so. Hey! What about that cute brunet? You seemed interested in him,” Axel said remembering the small guy that was with Riku earlier that night.

“Sora? Why does everyone think he’s cute? But it’s highly unlikely, even if by some miracle I do see him again, it would never work out,”

“Why not?” Zexion asked, speaking up for the first time.

“Axel, did you notice anything different about Roxas?” Riku asked his friend, seemingly ignoring his brother’s question.

“Different? How so?” the emerald eyed man asked.

“His ears? Both he and Sora are elves, _Mythics_ , and you know how my father feels about Mythics,” Riku explained.

“Are you sure?” Axel asked, a look of drunk focus wrinkling his brow.

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t. Sora confirmed it,” Riku said with a sigh, “Father barely stands you, he’s still sure you and Kairi are some kin of fire demon or elemental or whatever. How do you think he’d react if I suddenly brought home an elf as a boyfriend?”

“You’d at least have mother’s support,” Zexion said.

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t stop father,” Riku replied.

Their mother was much more open to the Mythics, probably because of her mother. Their grandmother, Aurora, claimed to be a Dreameater, a Mythic that, even in the Mythic Land, was considered a legend. They loved her though, she always had the best stories, and Riku, whether or not he would admit to it, had always wished he too was a Dreameater after hearing about them from her.

“But you’re probably never going to see him again, so it shouldn’t matter either way. Now I’m going to go to bed. Axel if you even try to wake me up before my alarm you’ll find yourself as the test subject to my next spell,”

“Ah, Zexy, that was one time,” the red head whined.

“Yes, and that one time almost cost me my leg,” Zexion retorted curtly.

Axel pouted and huffed as the spell caster left, leaving Riku alone with the marketing major.

“Is there any reason you’re still here?” Riku asked.

“Ah, c’mon Ku, aren’t we friends? Let me stay here? It’s warm and cozy,” Axel begged, snuggling up to the silver haired man.

Riku responded by shoving his drunk roommate to the floor and returning his attention to his book. After the very ‘manly’ shriek of terror as he plummeted to the ground, Axel sat for a moment glaring at Riku before staggering to his feet and leaving the younger man to his own devices. When he was gone Luna jumped back up on the bed, reclaiming her spot at the foot of the mattress. Riku read for a while longer after that, before coming to a reasonable stopping point and turning in for the night.

That night he dreamt of Dreameaters and Sora;every moment of the dream almost too real for comfort.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look a new chapter! I don't think a whole lot happens but what does happen is important. As usual enjoy!

It had been almost three weeks since that night at the club, and every night since then, without fail, Riku’s dreams had been plagued by visions of the adorable elf he had saved; some of the dreams far less innocent than others. It was one of **those** dreams that had the silver haired man spacing out as he entered his Mythic’s Lit class. Images of the previous night’s dream flashed across his mind as he took his usual seat in the third row. The room filled as Riku set up his laptop and reviewed the notes from his readings, trying his best to focus on going back over a few select passages he had noted as good talking points. He didn’t bother looking up when the professor entered, it wasn’t like he had started the lecture yet, and really, if the professor had wanted the classes immediate attention he would have made it known.

When Riku finally did lift his eyes to the front of the hall his heart skipped several beats, a gasp caught in his throat, and he was sure his stomach just became even more intimately acquainted with his colon. There, sitting on a stool just off to the side of the board, was the star of his dreams. Had he not had better control of himself, Riku was nearly positive that he would have done something less than acceptable to get to the brunet.

Sora was perched on a stool, idly swinging his legs back and forth. He and Roxas had accompanied Leon to his lectures, the professor thought it might be beneficial to both his students and the two princes, for them to aid in his lectures; and get them out of the house. Cloud loved his brothers but after having them around all the time was starting to get to him. Sora’s legs froze mid swing when he locked eyes with a pair of piercing aqua orbs boring into his own. The young elf felt his blood rush to his face and he sent the silveret a shy smile and wave.

Roxas noticed his brother’s sudden change in behavior, shooting him a concerned glance before following his gaze. His eyes narrowed when he saw the Mundane Sora had met at that club. Sora hardly shut up about him, an impressive feat considering how brief their time together had been. Roxas didn’t trust him. There was something just ever so slightly off about his aura. Not that that was all that much to go on, but it was enough for Roxas to want to keep Sora away from him. The blond had even resorted to asking Neku about the silver haired man, a fact that he resented greatly, having to rely on Mundanes for help. Unfortunately Neku didn’t have much to say about him, but Shiki did. She had overheard the blond’s question and was quick to pause her heated discussion with Sora to step in and fill in the blanks.

She didn’t actually have all that much to add, just stating that he was a junior, majoring in literature, he had an older brother, and he was from some island. The lack of information Roxas was able to get did little to ease his suspicions. The blond elf kept a close on the Mundane throughout the lecture, mentally noting everything he could.

As the class drew to a close Riku hurriedly packed up his things, hoping to catch Sora before he left, or his brother dragged him away. He may have had the majority of his focus centered on Sora, but he had noticed the freezing glares the other elf was sending his way. He was too slow though, as he looked up after after zipping up his bag he saw Roxas practically carrying Sora out of the hall behind Leon. Riku could only watch as the brunet was once again pulled away from him.

Hanging his head with a sigh, the silveret turned around and began making his way to his next class, not having enough time to attempt to chase down the twins and still make it to class on time. He had made it a bit over half way to his next class when he was tackled from behind, taking the both of them to the ground. Grunting in pain, Riku rolled to the side, dislodging his attacker from his person, before sitting up to confront them. Opening his mouth to curse out the person, all traces of anger blinked away when he saw just who it was that had tackled him.

“Sora?”

“Heh… Hi,” Sora said as he sat up as well.

“Any particular reason you found the need to tackle me?” Riku asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Oh, well you see, I was running away from Roxas, because he wouldn’t let go so I could say hi to you, and I couldn’t really stop myself in time. That, and I was just really excited to see you again,”

Riku couldn’t help the grin that spread over face at Sora’s words, he didn’t know why, but he felt like he had known the brunet for a whole lifetime.

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay and talk, I have to get to my next class, but,” Riku reached into his bag, searching for a pen, “I’ll give you my number so you can text or call me later,” he scribbled down his number on a scrap of paper, handing it to the elf as he helped him to his feet, “You better go,” Riku motioned to where he could see Roxas charging towards them.

Sora beamed, holding the scrap close to his heart as he watched Riku walk away. He continued to stare after the Mundane until he disappeared into one of the nearby buildings, at which point Roxas had caught up with him, and proceeded to smack him upside the head and lecture him about running off like he had.

Riku watched the scene with a small smile from his spot next tot he window.

His next class seemed to go on forever, which was weird for him because he usually enjoyed his creative prose class. When he was finally dismissed he raced home, checking his phone every few minutes in hopes of finding a new message from Sora. He didn’t care if he was acting like a love sick school girl, Sora was worth the teasing he would no doubt receive from Axel and Zexion. By the time he got back to his apartment he still had no new messages; he didn’t get one until later that evening.

_From: Sender Unknown:_

_Riku? This is Sora._

Riku added the number to his contacts before responding.

**To Sora:**

**Hey Sora.**

Not the most eloquent response, but Riku didn’t care, he was just happy Sora had actually texted him.

_From Sora:_

_Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Cloud and Leon had to take me and Roxas to get new phones, ours didn’t work here._

**To Sora:**

**Your phone didn’t work?**

_From Sora:_

_No, something to do with the power source or whatever, but that doesn’t matter now :)_

**To Sora:**

**No, I don’t suppose it does. So does this mean you’re sticking around for a while?**

Riku was hoping the answer was yes. As much as he hated meeting people and going through all the awkward formalities of getting to know them, he realized he wanted to do that with Sora.

_From Sora_

_It seems that way, much to Roxas’ displeasure, lol_

**To Sora:**

**For some reason that doesn’t surprise me**

_From Sora:_

_So, since it seems like I’m going to be here for a while, would you like to go out some time?_

Well damn… Sora beat him to it. Riku had planned to ask the brunet out, just get dinner and maybe go for a walk in the park where they could talk, but here Sora was asking him out.

**To Sora:**

**Well I was going to ask if you’d like to go to dinner tomorrow, but if you had another idea I’d love to hear it.**

_From Sora:_

_You wanted to ask me out? Really? I mean I didn’t really have any plans, I don’t really what there is to do around here, so dinner sounds great!_

**To Sora:**

**Great, so I can pick you around seven if that works for you?**

_From Sora:_

_Sounds like a plan! I can’t wait! :D_

Riku grinned down at his phone as he walked into the kitchen, planning on grabbing some form of food that could qualify as dinner. It didn’t take him long to realize his mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what the update schedule for this fic is going to be yet, I've still got a main focus on my Danganronpa fic, and I've started streaming too, so life is happening but don't fret this fic has a decent chunk written already so chapters will come out as they do!


End file.
